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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316030">Devil Made Me Do It</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkymonkey/pseuds/snarkymonkey'>snarkymonkey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Demon!Dean, M/M, Scholar!Castiel, meet cute with a touch of Hell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:21:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,322</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316030</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkymonkey/pseuds/snarkymonkey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is on a semi-permanent research trip in Scotland, digging for historical treasures with his colleagues, Balthazar and Gabriel.  What he thinks is a pristine find turns out to be a <i>hell</i> of a lot more.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>88</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Devil Made Me Do It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Castiel brushed more dirt away, eyes wide with delight.  “My god,” he breathed.  “This … this -”</p><p>“Is rubbish,” Balthazar interrupted.  He crouched over Castiel, peering at the object.  “It’s yet another vase from yet another doomed kingdom.  My word, the way you react you’d think the bloody thing was the grail.”  He waved a hand.  "Looks more suitable to my Nan's tea table than a king's parlor, if that's what you're thinking."</p><p>Castiel glared up at his partner.  “And you have no sense of adventure.”  He turned back to the find.  Balthazar wasn’t wrong, though.  It wasn’t anything different from what they’d found over the last month, other than being in one piece.  Beautifully inlaid though.</p><p>Rich, shimmering black opal that had managed to survive centuries buried in muddy earth in Scotland.  Pricks of scintillating red stone - likely agate - formed an image of a winged creature.  Angel?  Clumsily made so perhaps an apprentice?  Certainly worth investigating as far as Castiel was concerned.  He tugged on the item and it came free quickly, mud and dirt falling off in clumps.</p><p>“It’s … stunning,” he sighed, happily.  It would be an excellent addition to the museum’s collection.  He’d been working steadily with the Scottish government to unearth national treasures for the sake of history.  Like Balthazar intuited, it was likely nothing more than a bauble.  Still, it too would join the other odds and ends currently in storage.  </p><p>So beautiful, though.  He was amazed at how well-preserved it was.  It would look perfectly at home in his own office even.  Under the sunlight, the red stone shimmered like fire and that the opal grew warm under his fingers.</p><p>Balthazar rose and stretched, wincing as his back cracked.  “Shall we call it?  Return tomorrow?”  He threw his trowel down into the mud at his feet.  "Shan't likely rain which means a chance for more dented coins."</p><p>Castiel glanced around, surprised at the lowered sun.  “Oh.  Yes, certainly.”  He scrambled from his dig site, clutching the new vase.  “I’ll hand this off to Gabriel.”  He looked around the site, wondering what else they might find.  So far, the majority had been old, pitted weapons, coins, and the occasional pottery shard.  This was the first whole item they’d found.  It would be a stunning centerpiece for the museum.</p><p>He carried it with reverence to Gabriel’s tent, handing it off.  For a split second, he considered stashing it in his personal bag but the idea soured in his stomach.  No, something this beautiful needed to be shared, not hoarded.  What a ridiculous idea.  No one in their right mind would want to keep others from seeing a genuine piece of history.  <em>That </em>was meant to be shared and passed to as many as possible.  At least, that had always been Castiel's motto.  He'd run into plenty who didn't always share that impetus.  Thankfully, Gabriel and Balthazar tended to think like him.</p><p>Gabriel, for his part, whistled.  “Yowza, one piece?  Nice work, Cassie.”</p><p>He beamed.  “It’s a find for sure.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve found unbroken pottery.”</p><p>The other man nodded, frowning lightly.  “Neither have I.  Certainly doesn’t look local.”  He tilted the vessel.  “Greek maybe?”  He made a noise.  “Almost Roman looking; tile-work is a bit odd though.”</p><p>"Perhaps Tesco," Balthazar muttered, grinning at Castiel's scowl.  "Lovely work, as usual, darling."  He blew a kiss.  "You shame us all with your luck."</p><p>He frowned and shook his head.  "You're impossible," he muttered.  “Anyway, I’ll have to examine it further but it’s likely not originally from this island.”  He grabbed his bag and jacket and waved to the two men.  “In any event, I’ll be off to my hotel.  See you both in the morning.”</p><p>He broke away from Balthazar and Gabriel, heading to his rental car and then his hotel.  It had been a long - and clearly fruitful - day.  All he wanted now was a hot shower and equally hot dinner.</p><p>He slid into his car and turned the key, screaming when a deep voice grumbled, “The hell, man?”</p><p>He twisted in his seat, wide-eyed.  A man sat in the back of his car.  A man wearing jeans and a leather jacket.  A <em>very</em> good-looking man who seemed <em>very</em> upset with Castiel.</p><p>“Wh-who are you?”  He patted himself for his wallet.  “I … I don’t have much,” he protested.</p><p>The man’s green eyes widened and then narrowed.  “You gave it away.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Clearly annoyed, the man folded his arms and sat back with a snort.  “Unbelievable.  What am I supposed to do with that?”  He ran a hand through his short brown hair, eyes shifting from green to red to black and then back again.  “Freely given breaks the contract; who freakin’ knew?”</p><p>“Freely … what?”  Castiel’s natural curiosity overcame his fright and confusion.  “Who are you?” he asked again.  He hadn't noticed the man sitting in his car when he’d arrived at the car park.  Or had he been ducked down, out of sight?  He frowned.  Not likely, the car was insanely small and the man was … not.</p><p>A flash and the man was now in the passenger seat, still scowling.  Castiel yelped and pressed against the door though the stranger remained staring resolutely out the window, jaw clenched.  </p><p>“Unbelievable,” he repeated.</p><p>“Um, can I … help you?” Castiel prodded, completely lost.</p><p>Green eyes shifted to him.  “No, because you fucked me over.”</p><p>“Eh?”</p><p>The man scowled at Castiel again.  “You managed to break the goddamn contract.  You aren’t supposed to give the damn thing away.”</p><p>What in the hell was he talking about?  Completely confused, Castiel reached out and poked the man in the cheek.  “Oh, you are real,” he murmured.</p><p>Green eyes fluttered.  “Duh, idiot.”  Again that odd red-black flash.  “Do you have any idea what you did?”</p><p>“No?”  Castiel looked around but no one had returned to the carpark.  He supposed he could bolt back to Balthazar and Gabriel but frankly, he was too intrigued and confused to move.  “You seem to have me at a disadvantage,” he murmured.</p><p>“Look.  There was one thing you were supposed to do.  Keep the vessel and then I got your soul.”  He snorted, leaning back with his arms crossed.  “This has never happened,” he muttered.  “I can’t even …” he scratched his head.  “I can’t even feel the damn thing now.”</p><p>“Do … are you talking about the vase?”</p><p>The man nodded.  “The second you touched it, you woke me.  But then you gave it up and now -” he threw up his hands.  Then his eyes widened.  “Oh shit; I think I’m stuck here.”  He patted his chest and legs.  “Fuck, am I mortal?”</p><p>Castiel squinted and tilted his head.  “Are you well?  Do you need medication?”</p><p>The man looked at him.  “What?”  He grinned suddenly, eyes crinkling and lips quirking.  A very good look for him.  “Oh, shit; you don’t have a clue what I am, do you?”</p><p>“I think you are an ill man who is confused,” Castiel remarked.  He patted his shoulder.  “There’s an A&amp;E on the way to my hotel; I can drop you off.”</p><p>“No, no; you don’t get it.”  The man grabbed Castiel’s jacket collar and pulled him close.  “You let me out,” he purred.  “You get to deal with me.”</p><p>“Let you out of what?” Castiel yelped.</p><p>“You let me out of the vase the moment your want manifested.  But instead of keeping it, you gave it away and severed my connection to it.”  The man’s eyes went dark.  His humor suddenly faded.  “You … you released me.”</p><p>“You said that,” Castiel murmured, cautious about distracting the man.  </p><p>“No,” he breathed.  “I mean, you … you freed me.”  He focused on Castiel then and yanked him forward, kissing him hard.</p><p>Castiel’s eyes were painfully wide but the kiss was … <i>oh</i>.  He had just managed to marshal enough braincells to return the embrace when he was shoved back again and released.</p><p>The man grinned again, this time in absolute warm relief.  “You freed me.  I’m not … I can’t be commanded anymore.”  He laughed, clapping his hands.  "Holy shit!  No wonder they never mentioned this!"  He stamped his feet like an excited child on Christmas.  "Suck it, Crowley," he barked in triumph.</p><p>“You’re … welcome?” Castiel hedged.  He touched his lips, the skin still tingling. </p><p>He blinked at the hand in his face.  He took it gingerly, shaking it once, more out of habit than understanding.</p><p>“Call me, Dean,” the man purred.  He gestured toward the dig site with a jerk of his head.  “You’ll find that thing ain’t remotely ancient.  I found it at a flea market this morning.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>Dean grinned again.  “Look.  Demons entrap, right?  People dig all over Scotland for old shit so how hard is it to find something that looks old and bury it about a foot deep?”  He leaned in and whispered loudly, “Not very.”</p><p>Rather than be startled by anything else Dean had said, Castiel groaned.  “It’s a fake?”</p><p>Dean blinked and then laughed.  “That sank in?”</p><p>He scowled and then reddened.  “Excuse me for having a stake in this.”  He blanched when the rest of the conversation caught up.  “D-demon?”</p><p>Dean winked.  “In the flesh.”</p><p>Castiel pointed toward the dig site.  “You … possessed that?”  He could remember the pristine look of it.  The way it warmed in his hands.  He focused on Dean then.  “Let me get this straight:  you possessed the vase and waited for someone to … abscond with it so that you could do the same with their soul?”</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“But then I, gave it up thus … severing your connection with the vessel.”</p><p>“Uh huh.”</p><p>“But - if I believed that - couldn’t you just possess another vase?”</p><p>Dean shook his head.  “You touched my vessel and connected yourself to me in that instant.  When you did possess it, you did the same to me.  You gave up the vase and gave me up at the same time.  You broke my contract.  You severed my servitude to Hell.”</p><p>Castiel tilted his head again, noting that Dean’s eyes softened at the action.  “No one ever did that?  Before today, I mean?”</p><p>“Look, people aren’t very altruistic.”  He poked Castiel in the forehead.  “Give somebody a hint that they have a fragment of wealth that can be theirs and theirs alone?  Even the pope would turn into a miser.”</p><p>“Huh.”  Castiel blinked rapidly.  So.  If Dean was telling the truth, he was a demon who’d intended to devour Castiel’s soul but instead was left drifting in reality.  “Huh,” he repeated, sitting back and staring out the window.</p><p>“You’re taking this pretty damn well, all things considered.”</p><p>Castiel glanced at him.  He looked human.  Dressed in modern clothing with brown hair and beautiful green eyes.  It was the eyes that most captured Castiel.  They were wide and deep.  Honest.  He believed every word Dean was telling him, odd as it all was.</p><p>“You’re a demon,” he stated, for clarity.</p><p>A grin toyed at Dean’s mouth but he only nodded.</p><p>“If you did have a connection to Hell, won’t they be mad?”</p><p>Dean shrugged.  “Probably?  Crowley, the one who’d locked me in, he’ll probably throw up a fuss for a little bit but then again, he always said I was more annoying than helpful.  I mean, I did fulfil my end of the contract a long time ago; he's got nothin' now."  He grinned.  “Besides, I wasn’t all that productive on the soul collection department if you get my meaning.” </p><p>Castiel raised an eyebrow.  “Not hard to believe,” he murmured, absently.</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>He took a deep breath.  “Where will you go?”</p><p>That startled the demon.  He blinked and then looked out the window.  “Uh, dunno,” he admitted.  He looked at his hands.  “Thing is, never thought I’d get free.  So … got no backup plan,” he admitted.</p><p>Castiel mulled it over.  He never did like the idea of abandoning someone in need.  Even if said someone was truly a demon.  He held out his hand toward Dean.  “Dean.  I am Castiel Novak, archeologist.  It appears that I have immediate need for an … assistant.  If you’d care to oblige?”</p><p>Dean glanced at the outstretched hand and then back to Castiel.  That same, honest grin from before.  Castiel briefly wondered if Dean had always been a demon.  The thought faded as Dean shook his hand and then leaned back in his seat.  “You sure about this, professor?”</p><p><em>Not in the slightest</em>, he admitted.  But he’d seen truth in Dean’s warm eyes.  And if what had happened was reality, it was his duty to help Dean.  He’d found the vase after all.  Abandoning Dean after that would make him no better than the damned souls he’d collected over the years.</p><p>“Right now, all I’m sure of is that I need dinner.”  He smiled at Dean.  “Care to join me?”</p><p>That now-familiar grin quickly shifted into something far hotter.  “You bet.  By the way, think maybe that assistant gig comes with perks?”</p><p>“Such as?” Castiel asked as he pulled out of the lot, glancing once at Dean.</p><p>“Oh, like,” he leaned in, nipping Castiel’s earlobe, “more of that kiss?”  He slid a hand around to the inside of Castiel’s thigh, squeezing possessively.  “I’m pretty good at more than that,” he teased.</p><p>Castiel shivered and swallowed.  “M-maybe,” he rasped.  He reached up and planted his hand on Dean’s face, pushing him back.  “For now, don’t distract me; I hate driving in Scotland.”</p><p>He yelped suddenly when he found himself in the passenger seat, Dean now behind the wheel.  He glared.  “Don’t do that!”</p><p>Dean winked.  “Seems I still have a few tricks, professor.  Just think how useful I’ll be for you now.”</p><p>Castiel’s face went hot.  “Maybe I should go get the vase back,” he muttered as Dean jolted the car into traffic.  </p><p>“Too late!”</p><p>Castiel frowned at Dean but hid a smile all the same.  Perhaps it was too late for some things.  And perfect timing for others.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Understand, making that pun?  <i>Hurt</i> me in my soul.  I am scarred.  </p><p>Anyway, my darling <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiriei">kiriei</a> prompted me on this so, have at.  :p</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://snarkymonkeyprime.tumblr.com">My Tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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